My life in Pictures (with some explanation)

Metal Day at Monkey Bay. Headbangin' for all.

I torture children and force them to take photographs with me. This is Zander, the son of Mufasa's Lodge owners Tinus and Katryn.

Zander and Darren resting whilst sword fighting with bamboo.

A very tiny Caitlin and Adam on top of the big rock at Monkey Bay.

The "half boat" that is getting worked on at Mufasa's.

C on the beach, knitting, of course.

My best friend in the village, John. He loves America.

Girls' Empowerment Day at Dwasulu CDSS. This is the Bridge activity, where girls learn about challenges they'll face in trying to reach their goals and about support devices they can utilize to get to the future they want to have for themselves. They get to balance on wood and embarass each other, so it's always a big hit.

Bridge

Girls' Empowerment in the classroom, fellow PCV Megan pumping them up Tonga style.

Lots of neighbors and mud projects. Here is a galimoto - car.

Small Update

Hey all,
My projects are moving along nicely at site. My women's group decided that since the guinea fowl weren't laying eggs, we would sell those birds and buy chickens to profit from them instead. It's a bit more common, so we won't have an advantage in that sense, but those guineas were just eating and not giving anything back! The ladies are hopeful that now they'll get some income to help out the nursery school and some elderly folks in the area, both affected by HIV and AIDS.

The building for the maize mill is completed! We're waiting to order the mill, but I am the one holding things up on that front. I've been trapped in Lilongwe on an unexpected trip for over two weeks and it looks to be close to another two before I get out of here! Since the trip was unexpected I did not bring my checkbook, so I cannot order the mill. Eek - I feel guilty because the builder and others worked hard to rush the building and now they're just cooling their heels while I figure some stuff out here in town. Cross all your fingers for me that I get out of here soon.

If nothing else being stuck in town has given me plenty of cause for reflection on how much I value and cherish my time in the village (even though sometimes I run away from the village for a few days). I miss my Ngalan friends! I miss my house! My neighbor kids! My lakeshore! Even my form 3 students - and that's saying a lot. I want to go back to the village and enjoy my final 9 months there. I hope that I can do that next week, and then just stay there for a good long while. Well, except I'll have to come *back* to Lilongwe to order the mill. Sigh! I need a car =p

Otherwise, rainy season is all but over and we're entering dry / cool season, which is a welcome change after average temps well over 100 F. Soon it will be time for Malawians to harvest all the maize they planted in December and January, and that is my favorite time in the village because everybody is happy and full and content. Unless the crops fail, which luckily, in my area, they did not. There was so much rain, in fact, that there will be a 'bumper harvest' for rice, so yay for me! I love to see my neighbors getting fat and happy and just smiling together under the mango tree, sharing a bit of food with everybody who walks by. The little boy that I named (Michael, of course) will grow quickly; in fact he's already sitting up on his own and giving me big smiles every time I visit him and his mom.

I'm looking forward to my parents visit in July! So close, and yet so far. I have some fun stuff planned for them, as well as lots of relaxing stuff, and I just really can't wait to show them what I've been talking about since I returned from Kenya in 2003. Conversely, my Malawian friends are also anxious for them to show up. It helps to prove that I'm an actual human and not some strange, pink alien ;)

That's all for now, keep reading and commenting and showing the love <3

I.O.U. 1 blog entry

Hey, two and a half months have flown by since I last posted here. Apologies; I've been letting my facebook status updates do all my work for me.

So, what's new? Well...
- I got my grant money. Yessir, the project is moving ahead. It's rainy season so I'm not sure how much construction we'll be able to do, but my village headman and my counterparts at the CBO (Community Based Organization) are motivated and anxious to get a move-on. The salesman at the mill place is tappin' his toe and my Member of Parliament is ready to deliver. I am pleased.
- The school-year calendar is FUBAR. Hence the remainder of my service will be spent (in addition to teaching and preparing for milling) searching for alternate housing for either myself or my 'replacement' volunteer, searching for something to do from August - December other than teaching, and not really getting a vaction, ever.
- My boss is retiring. Dora has been APCD for Education here in Malawi for a long time, and she kicks ass at it. She has gone to bat for me and others many times, she sticks up for us, she thinks of our interests, and we are going to miss her. Nobody will ever fill her shoes.
- My parents are talking to a travel agent about coming out here in July. The opportunity to show them where and how I live is so freakin' exciting I can't really sum it up. They will be shocked and awed and horrified and amazed as I am just about every day. Sweet.
- The transit house here in Lilongwe closes tomorrow. This is challenging because now to come to town will be much more expensive (by a factor of about 10, actually). "Secondary" projects are going to go down to nearly nada because writing a grant is a lot of work and we can't afford to stay here in town for 2 weeks while the proposal is farted around with. So we're not going to try, mostly. It also means that seeing other volunteers just isn't going to happen the way it has been. This is a bummer not just for social reasons but because I frequently get great ideas from other PCVs about how to deal with the challenges I face. So, this is another example of volunteer support failing. Sorry PC, but I think you made a big blooper this time. Time will tell!

I think that's all I've got for now. I hope that all of you at home are safe, happy, and warm. Drop me a comment or an email and update me on your lives.